There's more at stake here than showbiz

So fans of the reality show "Trump's Washington" who were thinking a special guest appearance by Robert Mueller might produce big ratings were disappointed. The guy insisted he didn't want this role, and even told everybody that the script they were pushing wasn't to his liking. But the folks in charge of casting — a New Yorker named Nadler and a dude from California called Schiff — had to give him a try.

Anybody who has read the book that this episode is based upon already knew what the show would reveal, so trying to squeeze a bit more drama out of the action was a flawed concept from the get-go. But it's a sloppy show, anyway — part drama, part farce, but ultimately a real tragedy — and this sort of thing happens when your lead actor is a prima donna desperate for adulation, with a supporting cast that takes all its cues from him.

I don't mean to make light of the serious issues that were discussed Wednesday when Mueller, the former special counsel, came before hearings of two House committees to discuss his probe of Russian tampering with the 2016 presidential race and efforts by Donald Trump, who was Russia's favored candidate in that race, to impede the probe.

But it's frustrating that so much of the post-hearing analysis has focused on the superficial over the significant. Having elected a reality TV star as our president — 14 seasons on NBC, playing a crafty tycoon — we've gotten used to viewing public affairs in terms that are more suitable to showbiz than governing: who comes across better on screen, whose message sticks with viewers, even how many people tune in to a particular broadcast. Trump can't lose in 2020, we hear, because the Democrats don't have a big star.

So people were disappointed that Mueller — a Vietnam war hero, former federal prosecutor and ex-director of the FBI — didn't give us the star turn we crave. TV is more exciting when there's a contest of equals, even if your favorite is getting a drubbing, so there was audience letdown at the absence of Nadal-versus-Federer moments during Mueller's seven hours in the witness chair. He was slow to answer a barrage of scripted questions from 63 members of Congress, each eager to make their own points in their brief moments on national TV. He didn't stray from the 500-plus-page report he submitted to the attorney general four months ago, as he had said he wouldn't. Dull, the critics concluded.

But Mueller did underscore the investigation's findings, in some cases therefore contradicting the president. He had not, in fact, exonerated Trump of obstruction of justice, despite the president's persistent claims; yes, the president "generally" didn't answer truthfully in his written responses under oath; yes, Trump repeatedly tried to thwart the investigation and asked aides to lie about that. Pointedly, Mueller said that accepting campaign help from a foreign power is "unpatriotic" and, in some instances, a crime.

So there was plenty to chew on for those 13 million TV viewers who tuned in (a bigger audience, incidentally, than "America's Got Talent" this week). But the most important line in Mueller's daylong role didn't have much impact on its intended audience.

Though he was an unwilling participant in the drama of the televised hearings, Mueller was clearly eager to get across one point to Congress: that Russia had, in fact, meddled dangerously in the 2016 election, and that such interference remains a threat to American democracy.

"It wasn't a single attempt," he said. "They're doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign."

How can that not upset every patriotic American? What about that threat doesn't demand action by our Congress and president?

Yet the day after Mueller's testimony, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blocked two election security bills passed by the House, even as the Senate Intelligence Committee reported that Russia had targeted voting systems in all 50 states in 2016 — a more pervasive threat than previously known — and warned that the U.S. remains vulnerable to vote-hacking in 2020, as well as social media manipulation of public opinion.

McConnell seemingly just shrugged. This sort of talk isn't popular in the White House. We're told Trump thinks it diminishes the legitimacy of his victory. Trump has often disputed the whole notion of Russia's role in our elections. Maybe McConnell is just protecting a fragile presidential ego.

But even the greatest stars need good direction. Somebody must prevail upon Trump to get behind enhanced election security. We don't want some guy named Vladimir pushing people around backstage. The greatest performance in history is American democracy, and that show must go on.